


'J ' 




Class i_4-Si. 



SPEECH 



OP 



. JQHN B. ALLEY, OF MASS., 



ON THE 



PRINCIPLES IMD PURPOSES OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 



Delivered in the Ho 



se of Representatives of the United States, Monday, April 30, 1860. 



■4fS 



W-fliRt. KoR. Hist. 80/- 

SPEECH. 



Mr. ALLEY. Mr. Chairman, in the remarks which I shall submit to the considera^n of ti 
committee at this time, I propose to discuss the principles and purposes of the RepubliX, party 
the causes which led to, aud the necessity of, its organization, the inevitable tendency o\itg Jqc^ 
trines, and the final result of its action. \ 

Slavery has been, to a greater or less extent, a disturbing element in our national polilcs c^er 
since the organization of the Government; in fact, political differences were occasioned bylt and 
sectional prejudices grew out of it, at a period long anterior to the formation of the Federll'c'(\rv 
pact. The establishment, encouragement, and perpetuity of the African slave trade, on tie pirt 
of Great Britain, against the remonstrance of some of the colonies, was among the causes which ed 
to the American Revolution. When the Constitution was framed and adopted, slavery' exised 
in all the States save one, and to her great glory be it spoken — that State wasMassachnsetts. 7he 
manner in which slavery was abolished in Massachusetts in 1180, seven years before the Federal 
Constitution was framed, is as honorable to the historic fame of her judic ary as it was to t'le 
patriotism and sense of justice of her people. It was not abolished by legislative enactment, butf 
simply b_v the decision of her supreme court, that slavery was incompatible vith the ]>rinciples of 
her constitution, and the declaration of sentiment in its preamble. Thus it was that slavery ceased 
forever within her Ijorders. And Massachusetts, ever true to this doctrine of her constitutioi, 
stands forth to-day with no law upon her statute-book in proscription of the mfortunate Africaaj 
except it may be in obedience to what is believed to be the higher law of tb Coustitutiou of the 
Union. 

The almost universal sentiment of the North is, that slavery is a great moral social, and politic- 1 
evil; productive of no good, but much of evil to the master, as well as to tb slave; and to hoi' 
him as a chattel is in violation of every precept of Christianity, of every axior of liberty, of evei;\ 
sentiment of justice, of every feeling of humanity. While they hold it to be a duty to oppose 
its further extension, they do not regard themselves as politically responible for its existence 
and perpetuity in the States. So long as many of the most enlightened and g ftd men of the South, 
who were statesmen and patriots, regarded it as an evil, and deplored ifi «istence, and agreed 
with the North that it ought not to be extended, and declared, also, that i1 ould not be defended 
upon any other ground than that of uncontrollable necessity, the North wir^ satisfied to be q\ii( i 
and content. But when it was di.?covered that it was the determined purpo e if the South, iu vio 
lation of all law and precedent, to force slavery everywhere, the peoph ct" the North becani' 
aroused, and now stand ready, with a unanimity proportioned to their coaricion of the purpose 
and designs of the South, to declare "thus far, but no further" — not anofieiinch of slave terri 
tory. 

Upon this question of the extension of slavery, the South has been gradually growing desperate; 
until now it openly announces its treasonable purpose to dissolve this Union, i" not permitted to 
use the whole force of this government to extend and protect slavery in all the nt^ticnal Territories. 
Many far seeing and sagacious people at the North have predicted for a Idng timcth's design of the 
South, but were unable to make the mass of the people believe it. But " whom the gods wish to 
destroy, they first make mad." The South have proclaimed it in unmistakable anguage; and the 
anti-slavery sentiment of the country will now take possession of the national Government. It 
cannot be averted. The South may rave and howl as much as it pleases; it must be done; and let 
me say to the South, these chosen Republican leaders will so administer the Government that every 
interest will be protected; that exact and equal justice will be done to the North as well as to the 
South, to the East and to the West. I am sorry to see, on the part of some, a disposition to apol- 
ogize for the position and action of the Republican party, and' claiming that the organization is a 
purely defeasive one. It is well enough to slate, what is the fact, that'had it not been for the mad- 
ness of the South upon this (piestion, the Republican party would never have obtained its present 
gigantic proportions. But this party needs no apology. It asks for nothing that is not clearly 
and constitutionally right: and apology for its action is as much out of place as au apology for 



■ic views and actions of Washington, Henry, Jefferson, JIadison, Monroe, Webster, and Clay, upon 

'lis question of slavery and its extension. It stands Miicre tliey stood, condemning slavery and 

.posed to its further extension; and, like them, disclaiming any purpose or authority to interfere 

ith its ^istciico in the States. Its fault, if any, is what theirs was, in being too conservative to 

tisfv tie anti-slavery sentiment of the country. 

Gcneinl Washington wrote to Robert Morris, as foUoAvs: 

'■1 cp o"ly ■'^'V ^^^^ there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a 
plan a/opt^'l tor the abolition of it; but there is only one proper and effectual mode by which it 
can b/acconplished. and that is, by legislative authority. And this, as far as mv suffrage will 
go, sbiU mt be wanting." 

Slilnld ixit this testimony of the immortal "Father of his Country," in favor of our principles 
mi Ictiou justify our position to the country and the world? 

Mi. JelTirson declared it to be the sincere wish of his heart to see slavery abolished; for, said he, 
" frerabi for my country when I reflect that God is just, and His justice cannot sleep forever.'' 
\ . d, alluiing to its violent overthrow, he declared: " The Almighty has no attribute which can 
.ke side «ith us in 5uch a contest." 

PatriclHenry declared: "That he honored the noble effort to abolish slavery." 

: !r. Mdison said that slavery found no justification in the laws of justice and right, and its ex- 
tension sonld be resisted. 

Mr. Mnroe was equally emphatic in his denunciation of slavery; and in his speech in the Vir- 
ginia coivention, he said: 

'.' Wehave found tbat this evil has preyed upon the very vitals of the Union, and has been pre- 
; iflicialto all the States in which it has existed." 

Mr. jlv'ebster declared " that his right arm should be severed from its socket sooner than it 
>iioul(|cast a vote faroriag the extension of slavery." 

Mr. Clay c'eclared '-slavery to be a great moral, social, and poHtical" evil; and he advocated, 

■ it! I ireat earnestness and power, at every period of his life, the eradual emancipation of the 

Thc^e illustrious ch racters and eminent statesmen, if living to-day, with these opinions of theirs 
-t.xnding upon the cniuring records of the nation's history, could not receive the smallest commis- 
_-ic.i for public servietat the hands of this national Administration— a,n Administration which will 
remain in all coming ime as a standing monument of usurpation and crime. 

"he Republican parly reflects every shade of opinion upon the question of slavery. The organi- 
:.r'on contains withiiiits limits the most ultra conservative men, and the most zealous anti-slave- 
ly dvocates, agreein^uly upon one object, namely, the determination to prevent the further ex- 
^iT ion of slavery. 1 

' he Democratic pari contains within its folds the rankest secessionists or disunionists and the 

•ni.v^est conservatives, hit all equally bent, at least so far as the orgauization is concerned, upon 

:tf^lding and perpetuiing human slavery. But neither of the extremes of these two Avings is 

= t"ied to be immedi*ly successful in obtaining possession of the national Government. The 

■ iimists of the Soul could uo more succeed in placing a representative of their ideas in the 
. ; utial chair than he Abolitionists of the Xorth can elect one of their number to that high 

■ ■ ■ ^ai. But the anti-laTcry sentiment of the North is thoroughly aroused: and, acting in coii- 

"11 with the conse aiism of the whole couutry, it will place iu the Presidential chaiV, on the 

■ M.ireh, 1861, a R lujlican President of conservative tendencies, but firm convictions; and 

■ he be the distii:ushed Senator of New York or any one else, he will be sustained by the 

eople of the Nor i iuid the jiatriotic men of the South. You may as well make up'vour 

jiiiiii. ii) it; you must sumt to it. 

Thepc threats of disso tiui of the Union are as the idle wind. The great body of the people at 
the S9uth iwe not so deftient in understanding and intelligence as not to know that thev could 
"ot lije a moment, andjiiint^iin "their peculiar institution," outside of the Union, in hostility 1o 
tneNdrth. I have no |ar of any serious movement for dissolution on the part of the Soiitii. 
Pvirkiing dogs never bit," I confess I have some tears of the North, although I know they are a 
agnaiunious and forbdring people; yet multitudes are beginning to feel that there is a point be- 
'id j\-liich "forbearanlp ce.iscs to be a virtue." When they consider that their commercial, their 
iiiutarturing, and all heir political interests, are neglected and sacriiiced, and everything made 
liiserrieut to the interc;fs of slavery, as they have been for years past; I say, when all ihis is 
lully realize^, as it soon must be, it is impossible to predict what the consecpiences will be. Cer- 
tain It is. that, first of al. they will rise in their might and demand their rights under the Consti- 
tubou and laws. But kt me tell gentlemen of the South, this Union will never be dissolved by 
tnem; it will take a migi'ier arm than theirs to overthrow this Government. If dissolved at all, 
I' will be liy the resistless will of the North. 

'jentlemcu talk ubont the white people of the South as though they were the special obicrts of 

ds providence; and th.'V taunt the white laborers of the North with being slaves to the cupital- 

i: Is of the .North. I heart a southern Senator declaim the other day upon the floor if the Senate, 

and stigmatize the free States as servile States. Yes, sir. he repeated it— servile States: and I have 

fleafd Ivepresentatives upon this floor talk about the white slaves of the North. Let me say to 

tJio^ gentlemen that there are multitudes of laboring men in the district I have the honor to repre- 

>enta3 there are all over the North, who are the equals in mental and moral culture, in general in- 

e ^^^ •' '■"'^"'^ '•" ^^^ '^"^ attributes that constitute a true manhood, of alarge majority of tliesouth- 

rn nepivsentativcs upon this floor. Why, sir, there are several mechanics who belong to a lit- 



erary society in my own neighborhood, who are dependent upon their daily labor for sapport th 
for learning and eloquence, are hardly surpassed by the distinguished Senator from Viro-inia ^h 
I heard make the remark. Labor at the North is respected; and it is only the idle and vicious tl°'f 
are degraded and despised. How is it at the South? There labor is despised because of slaver 
and the average condition of the great body of the non-slaveholders of the South— and they cof ' 
stitute four fifths of the whole — will not begin to compare favorably in education, general inteir" 
gence, moral worth, and manly ieeling, Mith the average of the native negro population ol'mv own 
State; and when I say this I say what I know from personal observation and knowledge; for I have 
travelled extensively in the South, and know much of its institutions and people. The Isorta have 
no desire to disparage the people of the South. We feel that they need our sympathv aid pitv 
more than they deserve our censure; but their arrogance and brag-^gadocio cannot butexcte deri 
sion and contempt. 

A distinguished foreigner remarked to me, some time ago, that he had been traveling at the 
South, and nothing amused him more than the affectation of superiority over the Mrth ivhich 
many of the southern people assumed. "Why," said he, "as a whole, they bear no fetter com- 
parison with the North than a last year's almanac does with the finest edition of WasKno-tcn Ir 
ving's works." \ *= 

The South has been prolific in great men, and nearly all her eminent statesmen in theWst aave 
borne their testimony against slavery, and opposed its extension; but the lesser lights ofthe pres- 
ent have discovered that they were all in error. Their men of to-day pronounce°slaveila liles^- 
ing, both to the master and the slave, to be nourished, extended, and protected, notwitltandiuo- 
they see all round them the evidences of blight, desolation, and decay, which every one otside of 
the slave States can perceive is "ascribable to the withering, blasting effects of slaverv.^ Take 
Virginia, for example. Less than seventy years ago this State contained twice as man_\1nhabi- 
tants as New York, and her political power in Congress and the electoral colleges wa^earlv 
double that ofthe Empire State. How is it to-day? The population of New York is nearFthre? 
times as great as that of Virginia, and her political power in Congress and the electoral colI|cres is 
nearly three limes as much as that of "the mother of Presidents." How is it M-ith their mrterial 
resources? Seventy years ago New York exported about three million, and Virginia ahoiri four 
million; to-day, the former State exports annually over one hundred million, and the, latter less 
than she did seventy years ago. 

The productions and importations of the two States at that time and the present show a much 
greater disparity in favor of the great northern State. The imports of this Stite ainouut to near 
two hundred million per annum; while those of the other amount to less than*ne million per year. 
The annual products of the Empire State amount to more than two hundrd aud fifty million, 
while those of this great southern State amount to only about forty million jer year. When the 
Constitution was adopted, only seventy years ago, New York was behind Yrginia, both in pro- 
ducts and importations. But a short time previous to that, this latter State r.as the first commer- 
cial State in the Union — her commerce exceeded that of all New England, aiji was three times as 
great as that of New York. Now, New York city alone is worth more thantwice as much as the 
whole State of Virginia, and contains more than half as many inhabitants. Ido not speak of these 
two States as exceptional cases; there is even more difference with some ofthe others than with 
these. I might take each and every one of the slave States, and compare thip in detail with the 
free States, in prosperity and progress, with less favorable results for some o the slave States than 
the comjiarison between New York and Virginia. , 

Take also, for instance, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. The importsjf foreign goods into 
South Carolina a century ago were near three million dollars. At presenljtey are but little more 
than half that amount; whereas, in Philadelphia alone, they are more tha; w'^elve times as much, 
against a very trifling amount one hundred years ago. The products f the manufacturing, 
mining and mechanic arts, in Pennsylvania, amount to about two hun lid million dollars. per 
annum, while in South Carolina they amount to less than ten million dolli riper year. Before the 
Revolution, the "Palmetto State" v.as the second commercial province on b continent, 

Look at Kentucky aud Ohio. Kentucky was admitted into the Union teiiyars before Ohio, with 
a finer climate, more productive soil, ;ind greater natural advantages; yet b'ho has outstripped her 
in population, wealth, and enterprise, to an extent that renders any com/mon between them, in 
almost anything, absurd. No one, whose judgment is not completely blindti, can fail to see that 
all this is a race between freedom and slavery: a system of forced labor on jlie one side and vol- 
untary industry on the other. When we look at these incontrovertible facts, ^ay we not ask where 
would this nation be to-day if it were not for the free States? If we v/ere alV-lave States, no such 
caiver of greatness and glory as we now witness in this infant Eepu'olic Avoulflhave been presented 
to the admiring gaze of an astonished world. On the contrary, if the South hid abolisheil slavery 
iu ibe early days of our history, her territory would have beeii covered, in the liDguage of auother, 
"vvilh cities, and villages, and railroads; and the country, instead of thirty, vould have h.ad tilty 
millidii people, who would have hailed the rising morn, exulting in republicai liberty.'' 

Virginia is mucli larger, territorially, than Ne\v York; with a finer climate, greater natural ad- 
vanlngcs of every kind. In fact, let her abolish slavery, and she would soon butstrip any State oi 
this Union in wealth and importince; Ijut if she will cherish and perpetuate jhis.curse within uer 
borders, she must remain imbecile and poverty-stricken, distinguished onlj for her slave-breed- 
ing — living upon reminiscences of the past, with no glory in the present, andlwilhout hope ui tc.;-' 
future. - • j ^ ^ 

But in these comparisons I have not allufli'd t;) my own State of .M:!ssachusc;tJ, so often revi:. d 



and so frenuentlj" calumniated upon this floor — a State which stands incomparably above them all, 
lot only ill historic fame, but no less in present greatness and unrivalled achievement. She needs 
g,^,]Q„y from any of her sons. "Her works praise her;'' and slaveholding arrogance may dis- 
imraoe her merits, "but she stands forth to-day, in the estimation of all enlightened men throughout 
the -vvorld as the model State of this Union. Her achievements in science, in literature, in arts, in 
industrial V"^snits, and in works of benevolence, and her intellectual and moral standard, are alto- 
eether unparalleled by any section of equal territorial extent upon this continent. Equally pre- 
eminent^ her historic greatness; and so well settled is this by the general judgment of all man- 
kind th/t no one whose opinion is worth quoting dares to deny her liistoric supremacy. 

Biit vk of <ho North are not only threatened with a dissolution of the Union, in the event of a 
conliu^iicv. which I think is sure to happen, namelj^, the election of a Republican President, but 
we ariJold that non-intercourse is to be established immediately with the North, and the South 
will p/rcha-e no more of her products. This is, indeed, alarming; but let us inquire how this is 
to be/ffect d. Everything that the South has to sell her poverty compels her to sell for cash only, 
whil^verthing we dispose of to the South we give her a liberal credit upon. The South to-day 
canmt in my opinion, pay its debts; and it has not property enough, in my judgment — not what 
A^e rf^'l''^'^''^''^^^ "-"'^ property — to pay seventy-five cents on the dollar of what it owes. And shall 
thewalkjf non-intercourse? Why, if you except the last few years, in which the South has been 
remirkally prosperous, owing to the high price of her products — a state of things which it is im- 
possible hould last — and the North has lost more money at the South, a great deal, tliiui she has 
ever mae hy the trade of the South, and there is scarcely a northern merchant v.'ho has not been 
oblio-ed depend upon his profits from custom received from the middle and western States, to 
meet hi losses sufl'cred in trade at the South. I remember well that in the great commercial re- 
vulsioiitiiat swept over this country like a tornado in 1837, every northern merchant that I knew 
in all lie northern cities that dealt exclusively with the South failed and was mined. The same 
thing .sain occurred ir 1842 — the year in which the United States bankrupt la-'.v was passed, which 
wijiedout untold millions of southern indebtedness; more, in fact, than the profits of the whole 
trade )f the South would then amount to for half a score of years. The only houses that survived 
tiios^two storms Avere those which had kept clear of trading with the South. Some years ago 1 
was published in several of the southern cities as one who was hostile to slavery — a merchant 
whose store should Ije avoided and shunned, because I was a Free-Soiier; but I never discovered 
it made any difiereuje. I will onlj' say that if non-iutercoui'se with me had always been the prac- 
tice on the part of tie South, I should have more money to-day th.in I have now. Taking into 
view the poverty ant dependent condition of the South, this talk about non-intercourse is simply 
ridiculous — as muchlso as it would be for our wives and children, who are so dependent upon us 
they could not live a week without us, to threaten us with dissolution and abandonment. 

But these threats aiout withdrawing from the North the trade of the South, to say nothing of 
their futility and ini otency, have a moral significance not unworthy of comment. Such an a[i- 
peal to the cupidity nd avarice of the North — -to stifle their honest convictions and suppress the 
holiest impulses of tl'ir nature at the call of mammon — is an insult to our people; which not a few 
northern miscreants I regret to know, are equally with the South responsible ibr. But, tlianks to 
the integrity and mal heroism of the North, suoli an appeal will have but little effect. I need 
only add, in confiri].tion of what I have already said, of the dependent condition of the South 
upon the North, tha lotwithstanding the intensity of feeling on the part of the South, the violent 
threats and vehemenyleclarations about non-intercourse sfnce the commencement of this session, 
I do not know of a simile merchant at the North, that I am acquainted with, who has been in the 
habit of trading wit the South — and I know of hosts of such in the Republican ranks — whose 
trade has diminishec On the contrary, I know of many, and some of them intense Rejiublieaus. 
whose trade has incn sid in that quarter. All men of experience know that trade will seek the best 
markets, either fia- b- ,iig or selling, in spite of popular clamor. 

We have heard a ; -eit deal said about the Helper book, and some of our timid friends on this 
side of the House ha e lelt quite alarmed at the denunciations and abuse that have been heaped 
ui.on those who recnJinended it. Mr. Chairman, I am not ashamed to confess that I read that 
book, and recommenl'd it, and contri!)uled money to jjrocure its publication for gratuitous circu- 
lation. And I thinlJiliere is nothing incendiary in it; if 1 thought there was, I should regret its 
puiilication, and wo/ld trample it under ibot; for as much as I desire the overthrow of slavery, 1 
do not wish to see iflicmoved by insurrection and bloodshed. There are in it many extravagant 
declarations and foolish suggestions which 1 do not ajiprove of; hut I never saw any liook that 
wa.- written by an elihi'siast tliat did not contain more or kss extravagances. There is in it ti 
grea.t deal of useful|;;a(istical information which will do any one good to read: and if the South 
v,ould read it careailiy and properly. 1 tliink it would do them no luirm, and might do them 
nuii li good. I -^ . 

IJut we must lemmiber that Helper is a southern man; therclbre wc sliould make nllmvance fin- 
his ctlHisiasm and CKiravaj.'ance, for extravagance, both in sentiment and action, is indigenous to 
^W!il;ern soil. AVell, indeed, may the South shrink from the exposure of its imbecility in that book. 
11k. statistics which it presents, well authcnticaied as thev are. sliow but too conclusively how 
rapidly t!ie Sj&tith is ileteriorating; while it is sliown that the North, on the contrary, is progress- 
ing in iniclligenie, .)opulati(,n, and wealtli, with a rapiditv unparalleled in the history of the 
Nvorld. Ii'r saj-s: ' ' ' ' i . . 

-CSS tiiiiii thtcp qii.Dirrs of a (Miiuiiry .ij;!), s;iy in IT^O-for iliat wns aliom tlii' nvor.iai- liiiip nl the iilinliiinn 
"*"-•■> '" '■'"*'■ 'Kiriliern .^taii;s— the .^oulli, willi atlvaiila^rs in soil, i-liiiiuic, rivrrs, liailiors, minerals, forests, ii.ul, 



ndeeri, almost evfirv other natural resouree, began an oven race with the North in all the imnnr,.,., 

dejected, and di^^hoMorcd. felave owners and .-lave drivers are the sole authors of her disgracp. -^t , ' ''"«'-^«"' *, 
sown, so let them reap." s'<»v-c, ai.ii ,,3 (jn.y f,. 

He shows bj unmistakable data that the value of all the property iu all the slave St^tn. f ., 
Lnion exclusive ot negroes, is not as much as that of one of the northern States He .h , 

from the undisputed record of tlieir views, that the great patriots of the South, in ti Z'' I"'?' 
Revolution, and m the early history of the Rebublic, whose memories they cherish wUh th i " 
reverence, were nearly all in tixvor of freedom and against slavery No wonder itU r ' "^ ' ' 
to them thus to be reminded by one of their own fellow-citizens of their ment-.l deo-U!"^'"''" ',' 
material decay. . o'«i'=^'^'T f 1. 

_ As I have said before, this slavery question has been a disturbing element in our na\nr,- 
tics ever since the organization of the General Government; and it will ever continue ti ^'" ' 
It is confined within the limits of the States, when the Federal Government will cease toV'"' ' 
responsibility for its existence; for all are agreed, the South unanimously, and nineteen tW^I'^ 
ot the Xorth, that we have nothing to do with it in the States, and are no more responsiba r '" 
cally, for its existence there, than we are for the serfdom of Russia. Until the slaver v nulr " 
settled, by the national Government being relieved from all responsibility for its existenl "^\^ 
IS its aspect now, that it will continue to be the all-absorbing question uponth" politH-il' { 
I have watched the progress of the anti-slavery sentiment with great interest from the dav A,?th.l 
South, in its first act of madness, refused to receive and refer appropriately, petitions Dr-iyinTr vJ 
gress to inquire into the expediency of abolishing slavery in the District of Columl)ia 'tIiV 
erable patriot and statesman, John Quincy Adams, whose large experience, eminent service nl t^i',' 
less ability, and unquestioned patriotism, entitled his opinions to more consifleration tlvan'thto oi 
any other man m Congrass, raised his Avarning voice of admonition and rdmonstrance IlJtnlVl 
the South that he was opposed to granting the prayer of the petitioners; lihat he thoi'urht nr^ d ' 
reasons could be given for his opinion; and if the petitions were received, knpropriatel^ refenfcd 
and reported upon, the whole question would be consigned to the tomb of MCanuIets' But le 
warned them that if they trampled upon this great constitutional right— the .5«crerf rio-lit of the 
humblest citizen in the land— they would raise .such a storm of just and hoh indio-nafion at the 
North, that no power on earth could suppress it. Who is there now so blint as uot (0 see the 
verification of that prediction? From that day to this the anti-slavery sentinLnt of t'le country 
has been gradually strengthening as one after another of the demands of the fciuth have been 1.11* 
forth, until it has become in opposition to the further extension of slavery as relstless as thewpve •■ 
of the ocean. ' 

Mr. Calhoun said at that time tliat the South must prevent the entering welge, bv refusing t( 
receive abolition petitions; for, said he, if you permit this sentiment of abolitioi^to obtain "^a foot- 
hold, by the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, although they do ot pretend to hav, 
any constitutional right to meddle with it in the States, yet the moral infliiencef such action Avil 
procure its overthrow in the States. For, said he, Europe is now opposed tcttic institutiim ■, • 
slavery; and if the North are against us, the whole world would be against ns, M tliu South coub 
not resist the moral influence of such coml)ined opposition. 

How fatal the delusion, and how fulile'ihe attempt to stifle the deep-rooted, .•onscientious, and 
religious convictions of a great people, by the passage of a few resolutions, corocted by aspiring- 
politicians. As the "old man eloquent" told them, they were only adding fic to the flame 

So It V, as Avith the passage of the fugitive slave act; a measure of no practuca enefit to the i 



enefit to the South, 



^- .„ .,„„ ...„.^ ^L^^ jj^^aai:,^ yji uuc iu^;iLivc Mtivc iiui,; n. lucLisurt; ui no praci.ica enent to tne oonin 
which can never be executed in many of the States of the North; a law which ]believe to be, wit 
a vast majority of tlie people of my own State, one of the most wicked, uncoi situtional, and biM 
barous lavys that was ever conceived by the human mind. I remember that at bi time of its passu m- 
I was travelling with a very intelligent gentleman, a slaveholder of South Car iliia, an old friemloi 
mine, and he told me that he regarded it as the worst law for the interests oRe South that eve-,- 
vi-as enacted.^ He said it was proper and right enough in itself, but it could lieVno practi;-'..! ser- 
vice to the South, and would only serve to arouse, What he called, the prejudies and religious 
fanaticism of the North, in opposition to the peace and interests of the South. aA, said he, 1 know 
enough of the people of the North to know that this sentiment of hostility to si very is founded 
upon a mistaken, but nevertheless conscientious religious conviction of its sinfilness and wrong: 
therefore it is useless to talk about consti-tutional rights against religious convictiiis; for any man, 
or set of men, who believe themselves armed with the panoply of heaven, are ready to maintain a 
warfare against the world. 

The South again exhibited its madness and folly in the repeal of the Jlissouri compromise act — a 
measure which has been productive of nothing but disaster and ruin to the interests of the South; 
and they are now determined to force upon an unwilling people another act, of more supreme 
folly— to characterize it by no harsher ^erm — than either of the others, namely, tte enactment of a 
congressional slave code. Such an act will Ite the last nail in their coffin, if they aiould be permit- 
ted to drive it. T 

The necessity of the Republican organization is to be found in the occasion whith Bas arisen to 
resist the usurpations and aggressions of the slave power, so vastly multiplied of Ute, culminating 
at last in the corruption of the supreme judiciary of the land — .in the Dred Scott decision; although 
in law, I think, that part of it which is of any value to the South may justly be considered, inlcLul 
parlance, extra-judicial, and of no binding force; but it is nevertheless an indication of the inaugii- 
rution of a policy which, if persisted in, must make the legislative department of the Governmi rt 
ciUirely subservient to the judiciary, wliichwill finally result, if not checked, in the overthrov; ci 



tiie llbcrtifs of the American people. It is an innovation and usurpation that must be resistedU 

all liazaids; and to me the result of the coming presidential election has more significance aid 

:. leater importance from its probable connection with the organzation of that court 'than from any 

-ilier-C:iuse. 

Ittnay Pcem,to some who have great reverence for the judiciary, as somewhat harsh to charnr- 

lizstlie rec/Dt action of the Supreme Court as corrupt. But when we consider that tbi^ Court 

: ;.l\vays /arefullv abstained from giving any decision upon any question of law or of fact • v 

•A licreit was actually obliged to— and never either, except upon those points in par'tinUar 

: I- ii ^^■AfmfClvA^n-e upon them to adjudicate— now for the Court to go out of its way to c.-'h^ 

.-'yinioDS, picli under the circumstances it had no moral right to give, upon questions purely of a 

nlUiral (iiar/'cter, is not only corrupt but degrading. No act of the executive, legislative or iu- 

;,, ill defi'tiiieut of the Government from its foundation, so shocked the pulilic mind— both for 

>- iiiean/ess uid atrocity— as did the Dred Scott decision. The Court, in order to maintain its 

i.ion/n tint case, that colored men, descendants of Africans who had been imported as slaves 

, , ihei)oiK or free, were not citizens, within the meaning of the Constitution, was compelled to 

,;. ,iy ijstoi-,- and ignore every principle of justice and right. The Court declares that at the tinjo 

" '■ lechration of Independence the whole civilized world universally regarded them as "hav- 




loas'trous in its action, 
adiscorn by the Am 
.IS Dceu by a Jay, an E 



Gieat Britin, that the negroes had the same natural rights as the white man. And many of Her 
noblest ail best citizens had declared the enslavement of the blacks to be a sin of the deepest d e 
and a eriie of the greatest magnitude. In our own country at that time, the greatest slatesnin 
patriots, .'id heroes, wli(| guided our councils, led our armies, and conducted our diplomacy. d..r^ 
ing the rivo^utiouary stiTggle, our Washingtons, Franklins, Adiimsco, Jc(rciauu», onermaus, Miiii- 
sons, ana a host of others, declared negro slavery to be irreconcilable with the precepts of (he 
Grospcl, ir the rights of man; and theframers of the Constitution would not permit the word s^h 
^0 ]:oliu.e its pages. 

thii.-for th« first time ii the history of our Government has the Supreme Court stepped asidf 
■■.itliout the shadow of a pretext to justify it, and undertaken to interfere with the legitimate fur4- 
I Ions of Congress, by vjitiially pronouncing its opinion upon matters in controversy between tffe 
two great political parties of the country. Such interference — so dangerous in its character, 
and so terrible in its consequences — ought to be visited with indignatic 
an people. Has it come to this, that that august tribunal — adorned as 
Jlsworth, a Rutledge, a Gushing, and a JIarshall, with their illustrious as*. 
uciatcs — has prostituteilits high functions and pre-eminent authority to such base purposes, with* 
3 Vrnorable chief and lis associates descending to political partisans? The fears of Mr. Jeftcrso'i, 
■1 relation to that courttiave at last been realized — fears which he so often expressed, that it would 
-iir]) authority and po\W, which the framers of the Government never intended it should pos- 
.-(•ss; and while that ilUstrious statesman and sage lived, it was with him a matter of constant 
juaIo;is,y and watchfulnei. 

Establish the Republim party in power, and it will place upon the bench of the Supreme Court, 
s opi>ortunity presents, liose who will interpret the Constittition and laws, not as political parti- 
iDs^ but as upright judts, holding the scales of justice even, whether they favor one side or th^ 
. her. With this party ji power, and not irntil then, our commercial, manufacturing, and agri- 
iliural interests will bopperly cared for. j 

1 '^ ujion whom do thcfeuuth rely? Upon the northern Democracv, drawn to their support, intlifi 
;.re of Mr. Calhoun ' by the cohesive power of public plunde/-?" What a support! and wheiB 
i I ways found, Avhen h; national Treasury is in other hands? Passing ultra anti-slavciy 
iii'ius, and vieing wi leach other in making anti-slavery professions, to secure the offices aud 
; iiirnts of the State c v^rnments. So it has always been in our State, and so it will ever be, 
1 -ug as Democrats are illing to sell themselves for a mess of pottage. No abolition conveuf-OQ 
"1- passed stronger anti^a/eiy resolutions, or made stronger anti-slavery professions, than the 
.nocrats of Massachusejs have done when the Democracy have been out of power iu the national 
> jv.'rnment. Their ablit leader — that statesman of national renown — Caleb Gushing, while ho 
oS 'ooking to Massachuttfs for approbation and support, met every anti-slavery demand witii an 
alacrity that would havelecn truly commendable if it had only been sincere. No man ever uttered 
on the floor of Congress jobler sentiments for freedom than he. No man ever denounced the ag- 
gressions of the South stmger than he did; and I am sorry to say it, for I respect his great abilities, 
no son of Massachusetts fever debased himself so much to obtain favor with the South as Caleb 
Gushing. 

' have listened wiln amazement to the disunion speeches upon tho other side of the House; 
I lol effrontery aniapiiarent sincerity. 1 say apparent sincerity, for the3' do appear to be in 
-vuficst; and although I lave as little regard for the judgment and good sense of mere talkers and 
rhetoricians as any one, iud appreciate, I think, most fully their barrenness of either of those qual- 
ities, yet I am hardly pre;wred to believe in their sincerity at the expense of such a draft upon the 
soundness of their judgment. 

In tact, we have heard it intimated upon this floor, by the advocates of disunion, that these 
thrents have been often before made, with no purpose to execute them; but now they say they are 
terribly in earnest. If gentlemen will consult the record of debates upon this floor, they will find 
tnat twenty years ago the South was as denunciatory in tone, as belligerent in attitude, as brave 



\ 



ir lleclaration, as prolific in threats of dissolution, as now. Eloquent gentlemen told us then that 
the danger was imminent, the crisis was at liand, and unless this agitation of the slavery question 
(cased, the Union must be dissolved. About that time, a very quiet gentleman in my cwn county 
with a few associates, believing that it was the duty of the North to absolve itself from a\ respon- 
sibility for the existence of slavery, proposed to let the South take care of itself; and thti-efore pe- 
titioned Congress to effect a peaceable dissolution of the Union. 

The petition was presented by the venerable Mr. Adams, and such an exhibition of coisterna- 
tion, rage, and confusion, on the part of southern members, has seldom been witnessed on this 
floor. Mr. Adams barely escaped a vote of censure for presenting the petition. Neva si,ce that 
experience has the country had cause to believe that the South could be in earnest in iti thi^ats of 
dissolution. -ex •■ \ 

I rememl^er that Mr. Webster and Jlr. Choate, of my own State, were once engaged a^pjosing 
counsel in a patent case, and Mr. Choate' s client was endeavoring to prove— what was i«is|ensa^ 
ble toliis cause— that two sections of a machine that looked exactly alike were in realitlenlrely 
different. Mr. Choate addressed the jury with all that learning, eloquence, and zeal thaVjurac- 
r-rized that gifted man, and such was his earnestness and power that the parties in intereAon the 
other aide began to tremble, aud feel that, after all, there might be a difference. Mr. Webstriross, 
and said quietly to the jury: "All this learning and eloquence is very pleasant to listen to,Vnt so 
far a«his case is concerned, it is all poetry and moonshine," and, holding up the machts, he 
said, Mook at them, look at them; do you see any difference? Of course not; there is none. Yu see 
it_ycu know it." These few words dispelled all of the effect of Mr. Choate's gorgeous eloglence. 

Such is the power of truth. , , _, . ^ , , , , r ' \ 

So flt-ro <iic the Lonstitution and the Union. Look at them, look at theh, among the gr^test 
raonmneuts of human genius the world has ever witnessed; look at the blood and treasure .hey 
have cost; look at the mighty interests involved in their perpetuity, and thea tell me if any pjuri- 
cidal arm shall ever be permitted to demolish them? Never ! never ! never ! 



PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1860. 



REPUBLICAN EXECUTIVE CONGRESSIONAIi COMIIITTEE. 



Hon. PRESTON KING, N. Y., Chairman, 
" J. W. GRIMES, IOWA, 
" L. F. S. FOSTER, CONN., 

On the part of the Senate. 

" E. B. WASHBURNE, ILLINOIS, 



Hon. JOHN COVODE, PM,, Treasurer, 
" E. G. SPAULDING 1. Y., 
" J. B. ALLEY, MAS, 

DAVID KILGORE-rNDIANA, 



J. L. N. STRATT 
On the part 



'-T, N. J., 

House of Reps. 



The cimmittee are prepared to furnish all the Republican Speeches as del'^red. 

Durin^the Presidential Campaign, Speeches and Documents will be supplii at the following 
reduced pHces : per 100—8 pages 50 cents, 16 pages $1, and larger documentain proportion. 
Addresa either of the above Committee. ' 

" GEORGE HARRIMTON, Secretary. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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